Photo: Kemberly Victorioso/Kisay Vii/FB" width="100%" />
A female pilot has become an overnight internet celebrity after she safely guided her Cebu Pacific plane through turbulent skies yesterday.
In a Facebook post, passenger Kemberly Victorioso recalled what transpired during the eventful flight to Davao City yesterday afternoon. She, along with her colleagues from Notre Dame of Tacurong College, were coming back from Iloilo after a one-week retreat.
“All of us were shaking and trembling as we had experience[d] a terrifying flight way back from Iloilo to Davao. Heavy rain and numerous turbulence we’d experience that made us thought that maybe it’s the end of all of us,” Victorioso wrote in her now-viral post, which has been shared almost 14,000 times.
Read: Flight attendant breastfeeds passenger’s baby aboard plane
“We express our deepest gratitude to the PILOT, who is in command, to our LADY PILOT OF CEBU PACIFIC JACQUELINE CHUA OF FLIGHT 5J 721! Together with our First Officer, FO VER JOSEPH POBLETE, who is in control, You’re a hero!” Victorioso added.
“After our flight, after we had seen who the pilot was, we gave a resounding applause for SHE SAVED OUR LIVES! You said ‘For all of you, a safe flight always.'”
In an interview with Coconuts Manila, Victorioso recalled that yesterday’s flight started out fine. “But midflight, the turbulence became really bad because it was raining so hard. The plane was shaking. So all of the passengers were screaming because we thought the plane was going to crash because it was shaking up and down and left to right. But became so glad because after an hour and 20 minutes we landed safely,” she said.
Read: Baby on a plane: Dublin-based Filipino nurse helps fellow passenger give birth during flight
The whole experience was traumatic, she added. “Some had palpitations. They had a hard time. Even after we got off the plane, a lot of people couldn’t move on [from what happened].”
But they were grateful for Chua’s composure and how she expertly navigated the plane. “After we landed safely, the captain went out [of the cabin] and we clapped because we were finally safe.”
Netizens who commented on Victorioso’s post were happy that everything turned out fine, too. Commenter Sheila Dasmariñas wrote, “The lady pilot was so good; the lord was great too!”
Have you ever experienced a harrowing flight? Tell us in the comments below or tweet to @CoconutsManila.
Find all episodes of The Coconuts Podcast
